Nalu One shots

Tying the knot

"Okay Natsu, truth or dare."

The dragon slayer tapped at his chin as if he was thinking, but judging by the glint in his eye, Lucy knew he wasn't going to pick truth.

"Dare!"

Lucy looked around her apartment, wondering what she could make him do. Her eyes landed on her fridge, remembering there was something she always wanted to try. 'Maybe I should have him try first? See how hard it is...'

Getting up, Lucy made her way over to her fridge to remove a jar of cherries. She brought it over, smiling as she set it on the ground. "I want you to tie a cherry stem with your tongue."

Natsu snorted, clearly underestimating the challenge. "Piece of cake!" He opened the jar, taking out a single cherry. Lucy watched as he popped it into his mouth, pulling out the stem as he chewed on the small fruit. After he swallowed, he put the stem back in her mouth.

Lucy didn't bother holding back her giggles as Natsu grew more and more frustrated with the stem, his lips twisting as he moved it in his mouth, trying to maneuver it with his tongue.

She fell backwards in a fit of laughter when she saw fire coming from his mouth, the stem disintegrating in the flame. Natsu let out a roar as he picked out another cherry, trying again.

By the time Natsu went through five more cherries, Lucy was crying from laughing, her stomach cramping in the process. She couldn't help it. Natsu looked too cute trying to tie that knot.

"H-here," she giggled, taking a cherry for herself. "I'll try."

"It's impossible," Natsu muttered, tempted to knock the whole jar over in his aggravation. The only thing stopping him was the knowledge that Lucy would kick him if he messed up her floor... again.

Natsu turned his glare to Lucy, watching as her mouth moved, her lips pressed tightly together. His cold stare slowly faded, replaced with a lazy grin as he watched her struggle. Somehow, knowing Lucy couldn't get it either made him feel a little better, even if that thought made him feel guilty at the same time. What could he say? Sometimes he could be a sore loser.

"You're right, this is impossible."

She pulled the stem from her mouth, seeing the bends along the red line. She was about to get up and throw the stem away when she froze, unsure if she heard Natsu correctly. "What did you just say?" she asked, shooting him an incredulous look.

Natsu raised a brow, as if he was wondering why she was looking at him like that. "I said, maybe we should try to work together to tie it. Isn't teamwork our best strength?"

Lucy's stomach felt as if she had butterflies swarming inside her. She had to press a hand to her belly to make sure she couldn't feel a flutter. "Do you realize what you just asked?" She didn't think Natsu was as dense as people kept claiming him to be, but that last question had her wondering if he meant to say what he did.

Natsu cocked his head, brows pinching together in concentration. "I asked if-" And then Lucy saw the recognition in his eyes.

He laughed, scratching the back of his head. "Wow! Guess that did come out wrong. Can you imagine?"

Lucy frowned, eyes falling to the ground. Yeah, she could imagine. She had been doing a lot recently, ever since she started feeling more than 'just friends' with Natsu. It started one day after he helped her organize her bookshelf. It was such a mundane activity, but laughing beside him as they made fun of story titles made her realize how comfortable she was with him.

She thought it would end there, but it didn't. Those types of thoughts didn't stop. She began really thinking about their friendship and the trust between them. It all happened so fast after that, until finally she realized that maybe what she wanted wasn't just friendship with him.